Credit: The Associated Press

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, seen on the screen, delivers his sixth and final State of the Nation address at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. President-elect and longtime opposition leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will take over the reigns of power on December 1. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Credit: The Associated Press

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto greets guests as he arrives to deliver his sixth and final State of the Nation address at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. President-elect and longtime opposition leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will take over the reigns of power on December 1. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Credit: The Associated Press

Workers install a plaque minutes before Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto arrives to deliver his sixth and final State of the Nation address at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 3, 2018. President-elect and longtime opposition leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will take over the reigns of power on December 1.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

MEXICO CITY — In his final state of the union address Monday, outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto blamed surging violent crime in Mexico on the inability of state and local police to handle the smaller gangs that emerged following the capture of cartel leaders.

Pena Nieto, who leaves office with historically low approval ratings, sidestepped blame for poor economic growth and rising debt during his six-year term, and he warned Mexicans not to turn to a foreign policy of "indifference."